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Battle of Lullen
The Battle of Lullen was the first battle of the Spring Campaign, a campaign of aggression set out by the Forsaken. Background Just as the Forsaken began their expansion over all the North, they sought to quickly stifle and destroy the Stromic lords just as the did in the northeastern portion of the region. With Trollbane struggling on all sides against the Trolls, Ogres, and Syndicate, Aleksy the Terrible -- known for his brutal but efficient methods -- was assigned command of the Hand of Wrath and order to begin a campaign to secure southern Stromgarde. His advance was slowed by also dealing with the Trolls and Ogres and it was enough time for Lords Arthur Cheswick and Gerold Derry to rally their forces. They were set to meet the Hand of Wrath just outside the village of Lullen with a combined for numbering around 1,200 men. Course of Battle Stromic Preparation Though the Stromic lords of Arthur Cheswick and Gerold Derry had heard of a Forsaken force marching on Lullen, they were ill-prepared and had very poor information on the force. Summoning one a third of each of their forces, they quickly combined them and took point on a strategic hill just outside the village. Arraying their forces in half, with either lord taking control of a flank and leaving the middle to a group of combat veterans, the plan was to wear down the Forsaken to allow their cavalry to flank and kill the artillery, then retreat into Lullen in order to limit the number of Forsaken forces that could fight. The men left in charge of the middle had two different views on how the middle should be commanded -- aggressive and rough versus cautious and slow. Battle Begins: Forsaken Arrival The Forsaken arrived late in the day and intended to assault Lullen right away. However, Aleksy was not anticipating a blockade of Stromic soldiers in his way. Knowing that fight would go uphill, he kept a traditional left, center, and right flanks -- his top lieutenants commanding the left and right. He focused all of his abominations into the center and left most of his infantry on the wings. He began with an artillery and crossbowmen barrage, raining hell upon the Stromic forces. After an hour of the bombardment, he allowed his cavalry and abominations to charge the center immediately. The Forsaken's left and right flank began to immediately apply pressure, fighting a dangerous uphill battle in order to displace the Stromic contingents. The Center Folds The left and right flanks of the Stromic forces held steady despite being outnumbered. Their shieldwalls were solid, their pikelines unshakeable, their archers blotting out the sun with their hails of arrows. To the flanks, this was a battle that the Stromics could win; unfortunately, the center is where the real horror was. Being commanded by three different veterans, the center was a mess of advancing and retreating; the line was almost non-existent. As the abominations and dreadguard charged, the shock of it almost broke the center immediately. Had it not been for deeds Sir Thaygor Abaroa, who took direct command of all the soldiers, it would have been a rout then and there. They held firm for a good long while before beginning the retreat. Both Lords Cheswick and Derry began to retreat in good order, managing to save a majority of their men's lives as they watched the center fold. As they began, they ordered the evacuation of Lullen to Blackwater Keep and even further south -- leaving a small regiment of volunteers behind in order to delay the enemy for as long as possible. The rest of the population and Stromic forces fled to Fort Yronguard. Aftermath Forsaken Occupation of Lullen The Forsaken quickly overwhelmed the remaining forces of Stromgarde and the population that stayed behind. The corpses were collected off of the battlefield to begin construction of more abominations and use of cannabalization for the Forsaken troops. Aleksy left approximately one-hundred infantry behind in order to occupy and fortifiy Lullen, turning it into a fort. Stromic losses Though the flanks held strong (losing combined only twenty men each), the center attained the most losses, losing more than one-hundred men. The ability of each lord to fall back and save most of their forces, however, is considered a strategic victory in the campaign as without the forces of Cheswick and Derry, the Stromic-Mynydd Coalition would have never occured. Category:Battles Category:Mynydd Category:Forsaken Category:Kingdom of Stromgarde Category:Human